The present invention relates to a device for supporting a vein segment in the preparation of the same during surgery.
In the event of an arterial blockage, impediment, damage or the like, it is known to graft a vein or vein segment from one part of the body and implant the graft in the area where the blockage has occurred in order to effectively bypass the problem area. For instance, the great saphenous vein may be taken from the leg and used for a coronary artery bypass or for a femoral popliteal artery bypass or other similar operations. In this procedure, the vein is removed from the leg and may be mounted on a holder so that it may be prepared for implantation in its new location in the body. Most procedures of this type have required two persons to perform the operation of extracting the vein to be prepared, the actual preparation of the vein and then its re-implantation. This, of course, undesirably adds expense and takes the time and effort of an additional person when one person should be in a position to complete the job.
A device for use in the preparation of a severed length of vein for grafting purposes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,874. In that patent, the device includes a frame having a base and two spaced, upstanding brackets which receive an elongated core thereon. This core is used for distending the vein with liquid in order to simulate normal blood pressure. While this type vein holder device may allow the vein preparation operation to be handled by one person, there are still some shortcomings. For instance, the surgeon is required to seal the vein ends by encircling the same with tape and weighting the tape with a clamp on each end. In addition, the frame device is intended to hold a core of one particular size which may prove inconvenient for handling vein lengths of varying dimensions that may be necessary depending upon the graft being contemplated. Accordingly, it can be seen that there is room for further improvements in this field.